Archive for October 18th, 2017

My new release, Baby, That’s the Spirit!, has a Halloween theme. The heroine, Amethyst, can see and speak with the dead and, of course, the hero, Adam, thinks that’s a bunch of crap.

In the excerpt below, the characters are on a date and winding their way through a corn maze. In the dark. Without a flashlight.

I can say from personal experience, that’s not the easiest thing to do, especially when you’re in a haunted corn maze, as it was in my case. When you turn a corner and the corn stalks come alive as a life sized scarecrow leaps out at you, well…bring extra underwear. Thankfully, we had a full moon (and other people’s flashlights) to navigate by, but the creepy vibes really jacked up the fear factor!

Anyhow, after I put Amethyst and Adam into the setting, I started wondering about corn mazes. Turns out, the first one was made right here in the U. S. A. in Annville, PA. It was 3 acres in size and had just under 2 miles of pathways. Apparently, that’s teensy, because the 2014 Guinness World Record holder was 60 acres (Wikipedia says so). So many people got lost in it and called 911, the town’s police chief started handing out maps.

Mazes have been around for millennia, but the corn variety only popped up in 1993. Although some of the intricate patterns are cut by a GPS-equipped tractor, many are hand cut, requiring days or even weeks to fabricate.

One of the most fun things about a corn maze is the chance to get lost in one with your sweetheart, like Adam and Amethyst. Since it’s that time of year, why not grab the person you most want to get naughty with, then sneak away to the closest maze and find a hidden corner? Who knows, you just might get a treat!

Baby, That’s the Spirit!

When free-spirited clairvoyant, Amethyst Raines, comes to Sweetness to tell fortunes at the fall festival, she crosses circuits with hunky electrical contractor, Adam Burkett. While she’s drawn to him, she has no intention of getting involved with the sexy single dad. The problem is, she has a message for him from beyond the grave…and, she’d deliver it, if she could just get the infuriating man to believe she can speak with the dead.

Cynical skeptic Adam is tired of deceitful women. All he wants to do is finish out his job contract and settle his beloved grandmother’s estate before saying good-bye to Sweetness forever. And, he’s definitely not going to be tempted by a woman who claims she can talk to spirits. But when his little girl goes missing, Adam will do anything to find her, including putting his faith in the seductive medium he can’t seem to resist.

She’s trying to solve a century-old secret; he’s trying to find his daughter. If they can work together, their relationship just might stand a ghost of a chance.

Hell, if she affected him this much after two days, it would be stupid to spend any more time with her. He was selling Nana Millie’s property and going west. Amethyst was heading to Florida for another fair in less than a month. Nothing could come from his attraction to her. If he had the sense God gave a flea, he would just get through the corn maze, make it an early evening, and put her out of his mind for good.

He’d have given that particular idea a good shot, too, except she grabbed his hand. “C’mon, let’s see if we can beat them to the finish,” she said, pointing to Beau and Jenna who were already turning the corner at the end of the first row of the maze.

At her touch, that weird tingling sensation snaked through his fingertips again before shooting straight up his arm and ricocheting straight down to his groin.

Her eyes went wide and her lips formed a surprised circle. Which made Adam start thinking about what her mouth would taste like if he kissed her. Or how sexy she’d sound if they indulged in any of the other activities that had been running through his mind since he’d met up with her at Beau and Jenna’s place before dinner.

When she’d opened the door of her pink, purple, and blue-striped – what did she call it? A tiny house? – he’d nearly drowned in a wave of pure lust. Her low-cut purple tunic was belted at her waist. The neckline skimmed the mounds of her breasts and her amethyst necklace nestled between the tantalizing globes, making his fingers itch to touch them. The bottom of her blouse ended just above the curve of her tight ass, accentuating her enticing buttocks. And her long, shapely legs were encased in black leggings that hugged every inch of supple muscle she’d built up through years of yoga and running.

If Beau and Jenna hadn’t been standing there with him, they’d never have made it to the restaurant.

Amethyst shook him out of his erotic fantasies when she tightened her grip on his hand and leaned into him. Her flowery fragrance caressed his nostrils as she draped a slim arm around his neck. “Or, on the other hand, we could forget all about beating them and go get lost in the dark for a while.” Her voice sounded husky.

A half-moon was rising. It cast a soft glow over the dried corn stalks — barely enough to see the path between the shadows. Even so, he clearly saw her drop her gaze to his mouth and slowly lick her lower lip.

He cleared his throat. “Getting lost sounds pretty tempting.” Hell, what was he talking about? It was extremely tempting.

“Then let’s go see how much fun corn mazes can be.” She briefly touched her soft lips to his before towing Adam behind her in the opposite direction her cousin had taken.

A few turns, one scarecrow, and three ghosts later, she stopped so suddenly he nearly ran into her. By the time he realized what was happening, she’d whirled around, slipped her arms around his neck, and pressed herself fully against his rising erection.

Heat exploded through his body. He wrapped her in his arms to pull her even closer.

She moaned and relaxed against him. Adam cupped her head with one hand and slanted his mouth across hers. He nudged her lips with his tongue, urging her to open for him. When she complied with a small sigh, the sound made his shaft jerk.

She moaned when she felt him twitch.

Their kiss heated even more when her tongue slipped in to explore his mouth. She slid her arms down his shoulders, curled her fingers into the fabric of his shirt, and rocked her pelvis against him. Her tongue stroked along his and he drew deeply on it as he tunneled his fingers into her short hair.

They broke apart when they heard the laughter and shrieks of an approaching group of kids. He noticed she was panting. She dropped her head to rest against his chest as if the kiss had made her too weak to hold it up. His male pride kicked in at that, although he was panting pretty hard himself.

The kids rounded the corner, carrying flashlights. Golden beams bounced off Adam and Amethyst, the ground, and the withered corn stalks like a demented strobe light that made everything appear to be moving.

She let go of his shirt and drew a shaky hand across her mouth, then held his gaze as the group tramped toward them, their feet making crunching noises in the dried shucks littering the path. Her eyes seemed softer in the reflection of pale moonlight and Adam felt like he was falling into their depths.

About Robin

Robin Michaela has been reading romances since her teen years, when she first snuck her aunt’s copy of The Flame and the Flower, by Kathleen Woodiwiss.

She’s married to her own Handsome Prince (a military airman) and has lived everywhere from the sunny shores of Florida to the wild crags of the Colorado Rocky Mountains. She currently resides in the Deep South. By day, she’s a dental hygienist and by night, Robin can be found eating chocolate, training for her next half marathon, and crafting her next novel (although not necessarily in that order).

Robin’s stories have been called “a simply delicious escape”. Sparks fly and desire sizzles when her irresistible heroines challenge the men of their dreams.